Áine Collins (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for attending to hear my points. This is an issue about which I am very concerned. The question of the hen harrier is one that affects my part of the world in Cork North-West and in particular the areas of Rockchapel, Newmarket, Ballydesmond, east Limerick, and up to Clare and Galway. The issue has lingered since the previous Administration was in office in 2007 when it was agreed that the hen harrier would become a protected species. Since then, 80,000 ha of land has been designated for the protection of the hen harrier. There are 3,854 families affected and the farmers involved can only farm their land to a certain capacity. They cannot build wind farms and they cannot develop forestry. Their land is of pretty much no value today. Of the 3,054 farmers, approximately 400 received compensation while the rest currently receive none. There is a possibility that this issue will be considered under GLAS, but the farmers believe that is not acceptable. I agree with them as their land now has no value. I wonder if it is constitutionally correct for this to happen without payments being made to these families.

One of the issues about which I ask the Minister today is the establishment of a new steering group for the formulation of a threat response plan for hen harriers. It is the Minister's intention to place a member of the SPA on the group. I ask the Minister to give serious consideration to putting a member of the IFDL group on the steering committee to represent farmers whose lands have been designated for the protection of hen harriers. It is very important to include the IFDL in the threat response plan and to give its members a say at the steering group. Right now, they feel very let down, not particularly by our Government, but certainly the previous one. They are asking us to listen to their concerns. Farmers spend 95% of their money in local communities which has a huge impact on rural Ireland.

The farmers have told me that the hen harrier originated in Waterford yet there are no designated lands in Kilkenny, the Golden Vale, or eastern Cork which are some of the areas with better land. Farmers with designated lands are taking the burden for all the other farmers in Ireland to deal with the issue in regard to the hen harrier. They deserve compensation over a 15 year period in lieu of growing forestry. A constituent approached me recently who has land in Rockchapel. He wanted to sell 5 acres to help his son buy a house in Cork but found when he went to sell the land that it was hen harrier designated and had no value. Even though there was forestry on both sides of him owned by two different farmers, he could not grow forestry on his land. This is a decision he did not want. He is quite happy for his land to be redesignated if that is possible, but in the alternative he believes farmers need compensation. In order to at least give them a hearing, I ask the Minister, who is very close to this and has had questions from many other representatives, to appoint to the steering group a representative from the IFDL group so that they feel their voice is being listened to.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The hen harrier is an endangered species protected under EU nature directives. The objective of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is to ensure that important species are protected while ensuring in parallel that the work of farmers and other landowners in managing the habitats which support these species is recognised. Hen harrier protection was a major issue in the judgment of the European Court of Justice of the EU in 2007 against Ireland in what is known as the "birds case" for failure to provide adequate protection for wild birds. As a result of the judgment, Ireland designated six special protection areas, or SPAs, for the conservation of this species. The case remains open with the continuing possibility of reputational damage and substantial fines being imposed on Ireland if we are not seen to be in compliance with the judgment. Hen harrier SPAs are at risk due to a number of factors, including the reclamation of upland open habitats for agriculture, the development of wind farms and the maturing of large-scale forests planted in upland areas. These activities have a serious impact on breeding populations of birds. According to the most recent survey in 2010, there are between 128 to 172 hen harrier breeding pairs. Agricultural reclamation of heath or bog is restricted in these SPAs as it removes nesting and foraging habitat for the species.

The Government is working hard in the wake of the birds case to develop a threat response plan for hen harriers. An inter-departmental steering group has been established to draw up the plan and it comprises representatives from my own Department, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The steering group will examine all of the issues at hand, including forestry consents, planning permissions for wind farms and financial supports for farmers with a view to determining the appropriate course of further action. The steering group has met on two occasions to date and will continue its important work over the next number of months.

The members of the steering group were asked to nominate relevant stakeholders to form part of a consultative committee to include broader representation from sectors likely to be affected by the plan. Through the consultative committee, the views of those affected will be sought and incorporated into the work of the steering group. The composition of the consultative committee is still under consideration and my Department has had a number of further requests in relation to its composition. It is my intention that the committee will include a farmer or farmers with lands designated as a special protection area for the hen harrier. It is expected that the first meeting of the consultative committee will be convened soon.

Áine Collins (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for her reply in regard to the birds being recognised as an endangered species. Nobody has a problem with that. The farmers' issue is that if their land is designated as protected, they should be compensated.

I am glad to hear the threat response steering group has already met twice and that the Minister has agreed to appoint somebody from a SPA to it. Would she ensure the appointee is a member of the group that is representing the hen harriers, such as the one I mentioned, the IFLD group? This group has come together in the past 12 months to work diligently on the hen harrier issue and they are seriously affected. I know a young farmer in his 30s with 100 acres of land, which he wanted to sell to buy farmland in a better area, that is now worthless to him. There is an issue under contract law, given the State has rendered farmers' land worthless.

I appreciate that the issue is not of the Minister's making but was brought in under the previous Administration in 2007. Although compensation was offered at the time, it is no longer available. We are left with a legacy which affects 3,800 families and the future of those farms. Unfortunately, some of the other farming groups feel this land is of no value because sometimes it is in upland areas, which might be wet. However, many good families have come from these lands and have farmed them very well to the best of their abilities and survived and grown, and they now want to expand. All I ask is for a commitment that the member appointed to the consultants' group will be a member of IFDL. I would appreciate it very much. I thank the Minister for taking this matter.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I am very aware of the situation because among the areas designated for the hen harrier across the country there is one in my county. The role of farmers in effectively managing important conservation sites has always been recognised and this is evident through the frequent contact between my officials and farmers and their representative groups. Unfortunately, under the last RDP it was too late to include specific measures for the hen harrier, however my Department included a small-scale farm plan to support farmers in adopting appropriate management practices in the hen harrier SPAs and the Department has paid out some €14 million for the scheme to date. Due to budgetary constraints, the scheme was closed to new applicants in 2010 and not all the farmers were able to avail of the scheme at the time.

It was always envisaged that the support would ultimately fall under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's remit as part of its future agri-environment schemes. Future payment schemes, including that for the hen harrier, will be implemented by that Department, primarily through the GLAS scheme. The Department is still in the process of finalising the details of GLAS. The consultative committee will be only one conduit for input into the development of the threat response plan and it is expected that a broader public and stakeholder consultation process will be undertaken with input being sought from all interested parties. Submissions from the public will also be sought at the time of publication of the first draft of the threat response plan and all these actions combined will help bring the necessary clarity and appropriate supports to farmers operating in these unique landscapes.